By Don Keenan
A brief history of the evolution of the Reptile© revolution before we look into the future:
THE EVOLUTION
Recall that in 2003, I was given the basics of the Reptile© from my neighbor at the beach, ironically, the architect of tort reform. I really didn’t want to believe that Bubba put himself first before his brother. I wanted to believe the scripture that we are our brothers’ keeper. But I forgot within that context the other more powerful scripture that’s found in every religion in the world, “Do onto others as you would have then do onto you,” the Golden Rule. So I wandered in the wilderness for a year reading everything I possibly could about the Reptile© and then finally took it to a round table at an annual Inner Circle meeting and presented it with the premise – prove me wrong. While I’d hoped they would dump it because, by now, I was obsessed with it. Surprisingly no one threw rocks and instead encouraged me to continue to pursue it. That’s why I reached out to my good friend David Ball and we formed the research team of Jim Fitzgerald, Gary Johnson, and eventually included Rick Friedman and then went about the country to prove it wrong.
Twenty-two two-day focus groups in nine separate states plus a load of phone conferences and in‑person meetings we conceded that the Reptile© was even more powerful than we’d thought. So in 2009, the Reptile© book was published. David and I knew we’d have to do a seminar or two to fill in some of the blanks, but never dreamed that in the next six years we’d average two seminars a month, go well beyond the Reptile© intro seminar and introduce seven specialized seminars to 7,000+ lawyers. Then we went on to the establishment of the Keenan Ball College. Nobody can dream that big.
THE EARLY PROBLEMS
Along the way, we have encountered a ton of naysayers and “chicken littlers” among our ranks. First came the MIST lawyers, not all, but some, claimed the Reptile© only applies to the big cases. Boy were they proved graveyard dead wrong. Then came the naysayers that proclaimed we’ll never be able to use rules, spreading the tentacles, or conscious of the community. That’s almost laughable today.
Looking back, the greatest difficulty with the Reptile© is not with the Taliban insurance companies or the Black Hats, it’s been some of our own miserable pessimistic rank. But then, I really can’t blame them because as the Richard Fariña’s book title years ago said “I’ve Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me.”
There haven’t been any shocking events along the way but it’s frankly been more like Malcolm Gladwell’s, “Tipping Point,” a series of events, which simply lead to that moment of realization and change. We once feared the motions in limine, how would we convince the judge we could use rules or even the word safety? Now that fear is laughable.
MY TIPPING POINT
I believe the turning point for me came during my California trial in 2014, when the opposition to my pro hac vice was not based on my lack of professionalism or civility. The defense conceded I was a nationally recognized professional civil lawyer. It was their contention that I was going to bring mind control to the California court room and the Manchurian Candidate would certainly arise. Think I’m kidding? Read the briefs and their argument. I don’t know why, but at that point, even with that focused of an attack, I had no fear because I realized that we own the Black Letter law. We own foreseeability (spreading the tentacles of danger). We own conscious of the community. We own rules, safety, and everything else. It’s ours and not the Black Hats and not the Taliban.
Up until now, we have lead Guerilla warfare. We are no different than the Minuteman that fired their muskets from the bushes during the Revolutionary War. To reveal themselves and fight one‑on‑one would have been certain death.
Thus far, we have maintained a level of secrecy that, with rare exceptions, we can all be proud of.
THE NEW FRONTIER
Now let me set the stage for our future – The New Frontier.
First, let’s all realize that there are two parts of the Reptile©. There’s the part dealing with
1) The legal foundation/ Black Letter law:
The right to present our case with full Reptile© elements. That Black Letter law is solid and has provided the launch pad for use from the beginning of the case through appeal.
2) The all-important practical application;
How to embed this stuff in the actual case. That’s not so easy and is difficult to teach and to learn as we see every day in the Keenan Ball College.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The “how to” and the practicality of using the Reptile© will always remain top secret and confidential and will never be revealed to the public and certainly not the Black Hats. Understand this before you start becoming very anxious and fearful with what I’m about to say. You can buy a book on the fundamentals of football or any sport, but you can not buy the New England Patriots play book or game plan.
THE POWER OF GOING PUBLIC
Against the backdrop of our evolution and specifically our outstanding track record for Court Orders after consultation with many of you beginning last fall, the decision has been made to go public with the Black Letter law of the Reptile©. No longer will we keep confidential discussions about conscience of the community, admissibility of rules, safety, spreading the tentacles of danger, etc.
We are deliberately and with full force going public and by public I mean the State Trial Lawyers Associations, the State Bar Associations (dominated and controlled by Black Hats), the Judiciary, the law schools.
As with all things Reptile©, this public display and dissemination will occur using a System, a calculated template on how to accomplish our goal.
Here’s the SYSTEM – the template:
- Every listserve must accomplish a full research memo on all nine subjects to include the recently added deterrence issue. So if the research ain’t done, get it done. Pass the hat, get some money and hire the research out, go to a law school class…..whatever…… just damn get it done yesterday.
- We have 47 certified Reptile© speakers on nine separate topics and Atlanta will have a staff person coordinate with all TLAs and State Bar Associations to offer Reptile© 1‑hour speakers. Yes, we will be speaking to the Black Hats, pounding into their soul the fact that we own the Black Letter Reptile© law. We have a specific set of goals to be accomplished with our Speakers Bureau. We will continue to use our copywrite, patent, and trademark to assure that only certified speakers speak on the Reptile©. We have a 100% batting average so far.
- We will vigorously attempt to get our speakers before any Judicial association whether it be trial court or appellate. Once again pounding the Black Letter Reptile© law that we own.
- Each listserve will nominate a prominent person to author a Black Letter article for the State’s Bar Journal. One State has already chosen a retired appellate judge who has accepted.
- To reach future lawyers, a free copy of the Reptile© book will be distributed to all trial advocacy professors across the country. Listserve members will decide the most appropriate member to approach the professors and open a road to teaching the Reptile© Black Letter law in law school.
This ain’t happening overnight, and we’ll do it systematically and controlled just like the Reptile© has evolved so far.
BOTTOM LINE: The time is now to go public with the law we own and educate the judiciary, fellow plaintiff’s lawyers, and law students. Get ready, every woodpecker plays a part.
NOTE: As I wrote the above, its St. Patrick’s week, where nothing but good happens to Irish folk. But more importantly, this is the week that the woodpecker and weasel went viral. Take a look at the power of the woodpecker.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/03/04/erin-pkg-moos-weasel-woodpecker-flies.cnn